Chapter Fifteen
TATE
“Kayla and Lyle saw us kiss, so we got the most awkward part over with,” Josie explained.
I chuckled. “True.”
After we were both in the truck, she added, “You’re more used to seeing them all the time.”
“You’ll get used to it.” I leaned across the console to kiss her again. “Nice to see you.”
I felt her smile against my lips when I drew away. “Was everything okay getting my car out?”
I pulled out of the parking lot. “Your car is safe and sound and ready to go. The only bad news I have is the place that installed the heater is located in Anchorage, and they can’t get out here to look at it for two whole weeks.”
“Two weeks!”
I caught her eyes as I turned onto the road. “I’m sorry. It’s winter, and they’re booked pretty solid. Is that gonna be okay?”
Josie was quiet for a few beats as I began driving. “Can I stay with you?”
I considered trying to play this cool for a beat, but I opted for blunt honesty.
“Last night was incredible.” I flicked her another glance, and she was looking right at me. I kept going as I brought my eyes back to the road. “And I’m not just talking about sex although that was definitely incredible.” I heard a soft snort escape from her. “So if you wanted to stay with me every night, that’s more than fine with me. We’ll have to be discreet around Kara. I told her I’d be sleeping on the couch. Fortunately, she’s a solid sleeper.”
I reached over, catching her hand where it rested on the console. She laced her fingers through mine and squeezed. My heart gave a spinning kick as it lunged into a rapid beat.
“I agree on all counts, but are we going too fast?”
My lungs felt tight, and emotion lodged in my throat. I definitely hadn’t expected Josie and what was happening with us.
“I hope not. But if you need me to give you space, I will. No matter how much I try to get them to fix the heater faster, I’m not so sure they can get here sooner. I’ll take a look at it tomorrow. I didn’t have time today. Maybe I can figure it out. I can also ask Beck to come take a look. He’s pretty handy.”
When I glanced over, I caught Josie’s eye roll. “You can ask Beck, but don’t you dare tell him about us.”
“Josie, I just kissed you in Firehouse Café. Beck is going to find out. He’s your cousin, though. Why does it matter if he knows?”
“It’s Beck,” she said, her tone heavy with sarcasm. “You know Beck. He’s nosy as can be. Not in a bad way, but more in a loving way. He likes to know what’s going on and always has an opinion. Thank God, I love him.”
I chuckled. “He is nosy as hell. Around the station, he’s the equivalent of the office gossip. Of course, he’s married to Maisie, who runs dispatch. She gets the scoop on everything before anybody else in town. They’re both awesome, though.”
Josie laughed softly. “I know they are, and I love them both. So yes, I want to stay with you. But if things get weird, I don’t want to have to go crash at my parents’ house because then they’ll get even weirder. My point being, let’s ask Beck if he can figure out the heater.”
“I’m pretty sure things aren’t going to get weird.” I really meant that. This thing with Josie just felt right. It felt beyond good, but I trusted it. I trusted it was going to be okay. In part because I’d known her forever and she’d always been a good friend. We leaned on each other after we got screwed over together. She was as loyal of a person as I knew.
She squeezed my hand. “I think you might be right.”
I kept driving, relieved it wasn’t snowing again tonight. Not because I minded the snow. I actually liked it. But I wanted to hold Josie’s hand and not worry much about the roads tonight.
“Can I change the subject?” Josie asked after a few minutes of quiet.
“Go for it.”
“Did you mean what you said about Marley, the woman from the ski place in Diamond Creek?”
“Absolutely. Here’s the deal. I’m not that involved in the planning. I own the land and the pretty run-down buildings, but no resort exists. The buildings are the equivalent of an old-school rec room where people hung out at the base of the slopes way back when. There are four slopes. The Cannon family will invest to build the resort, and they’re coordinating with the family who owns Last Frontier Lodge for the planning, and that’s it. I met Marley Hamilton because I skied there a few times. She’s awesome. You’ll really like her. She’s already told me we need to hire someone to help build the website and do all that. If you want to do that, let’s make it happen.”
Josie squeezed my hand again. “I’d love it. And honestly, I would absolutely love to be part of this project because skiing is my favorite thing to do.”
